Mechanical properties of martensitic CuZnAl foams in the pseudoelastic regime

GRACIELA BERTOLINO; PIERRE ARNEODO LAROCHETTE; ENRIQUE CASTRODEZA; ANDREA GRUTTADAURIA; CARLO MAPELLI; ALBERTO BARUJ; HORACIO E TROIANI

Ouro Preto, Brasil

Conferencia; IX Brazilian MRS Meeting, SBPMat; 2010

Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa em Materiais

Based on their particular set of properties, cellular metals made from regular alloys have beenused for many applications. Cellular metals made from shape memory alloys could widelyincrease the field of applications. In this work the compressive properties of martensiticCuZnAl foams produced through molten metal infiltration of a leachable bed of silicaparticles were investigated. During the tests the specimens almost reversibly absorbeddeformations up to 4% (Fig. 1) with excellent shape recovery (typically 95%). From themetallurgical point of view, the material was prone to intergranular fracture, similar to what isobserved in polycrystalline solid samples. Despite its tendency to fracture at localizedregions, the obtained cellular shape memory alloy is highly resilient, being able to stand up to1.000 compression cycles without lack of stability. All that facts (allied to low processingcost) make that foams a very promising candidate for industrial applications.Keywords: Cellular metals; Functional materials; Shape memory alloys (SMA).